


worth the wait

by complicationstoo



Series: STB Bingo Round One [9]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Office, First Dates, Getting Together, M/M, Mutual Pining, Trapped In Elevator
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:08:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28489560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/complicationstoo/pseuds/complicationstoo
Summary: Tony and Bucky keep trying to have their first date, but are met with constant interruptions. It takes them sixth tries and a broken elevator to finally get there.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark, Steve Rogers/Sam Wilson (background)
Series: STB Bingo Round One [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2037892
Comments: 10
Kudos: 155
Collections: STB Bingo: Round One





	worth the wait

**Author's Note:**

> Written for my Steve | Tony | Bucky Bingo square:  
> n5 - first dates

Tony strongly believes that the universe is actively working against him. He isn’t sure what he did to deserve it, but it must be spiting him for some wrongdoing years ago that he doesn’t remember anymore. Maybe it was for cheating on one question on that exam in college or not actually reading the book for his essay on _The Catcher in the Rye_ back in high school. He accidentally stood someone up on a date once, but in all fairness his parents had just died the day before and he was a little out of it. Either way, though, he really doesn’t think he deserves this as his punishment. 

It took him months to work up the courage to ask James out on a date. Months of pining from across the office and slyly watching him work from the corner of his eye whenever he thought James was too absorbed in a project to notice. Months of sticking his foot in his mouth whenever they had an actual conversation and making terrible jokes that only received fake laughs in return. He felt so far out of his element when it came to James, and he’d never quite experienced that with anyone before. Confidence and bravado are his brand, but he fell apart with just one look at the other man. 

He only asked him out because Pepper told him to either grow a pair and do it already or shut up about it for the rest of his life. He wasn’t expecting him to say yes, or the smile he got when he finally choked out the question. 

They talked on the phone that night, having just exchanged personal numbers that morning, and Tony really thought the universe was on his side for this one. But apparently the universe was playing the long game, getting him when he was least expecting it. 

It started with the headache when he woke up the morning of what should have been their first date, and he took a painkiller with breakfast that worked well enough. He walked to work with his iced coffee in hand, humming along to the song playing through his headphones and feeling fine. James was already at his desk when he walked in, and he looked up at Tony with a vibrant smile. 

But then throughout the day the dryness in his throat turned to scratchiness, which turned to a voice that just barely functioned. The aspirin wore off faster than it should have, leaving him with a pounding beneath his forehead and behind his eyes. Coughing came next, and the muscle aches topped it all off to make him feel weak and miserable. 

He’s in the middle of a coughing fit when he feels a tap on his shoulder, and he hacks into his elbow once more before turning around. James doesn’t manage to smooth his grimace out into a more neutral expression before Tony can see it.

“Hi,” Tony croaks, and he attempts to clear his throat to no avail. “What’s up?”

James holds out a paper cup with steam coming from the lid. “Thought you could use some tea. Heard you coughing all the way over there.”

Tony tells himself that his watery eyes are solely from whatever ailment is currently ruining him and not at all from the sweetness of the gesture. He takes a sip, burning his tongue a little on the honeyed green tea. “You didn’t have to do that, but thank you.”

James leans against Tony’s desk and folds his arms over his chest. He bites his lip before saying, “So I guess you probably aren’t feeling up to going out tonight.”

Tony deflates into his chair. “I’m sorry.”

“Not exactly your fault,” James shrugs. “I doubt you caught yourself a cold on purpose. I mean, it’s a hell of a way to tell a guy you’re not interested if you did, but seeing as you were the one that asked me out, I’m assuming it’s just bad timing.”

Tony laughs, but it turns into another bout of coughing that makes his stomach hurt. He reaches for the tea, which burns him again, but soothes his throat enough to stop the cough. 

“Really bad timing,” Tony agrees with an apologetic smile. “Am I worth rescheduling for?”

“How about next week? Think you’ll no longer be contagious on Friday?”

Tony grins, “I look forward to it.”

__________

He isn’t contagious by next Friday, but James unfortunately is. The cold circulated around the office, taking out almost everyone on their floor and the floor below them. Friday becomes the following Thursday, which leads into a three day weekend that Tony is optimistic about spending in bed with a certain someone. 

But the universe is really dragging out his karmic punishment. 

“I’m really sorry, Tony,” James says over the phone, and he sounds like he means it. “I know it’s last minute, but Steve doesn’t have anyone else to watch her, and she’s my goddaughter. I’d hate to leave her with some stranger.”

“No, it’s fine,” Tony reassures, even though disappointment has settled like a rock in his chest. “We can change it to tomorrow, if you’re free?”

“Tomorrow should be good. I’ll pick you up at seven?”

“See you then.”

__________

“I’m going to kill you for this,” Tony says as he opens the door to his car, glaring at his best friend. 

Rhodey rolls his eyes, dropping his duffel bag onto the sidewalk to put his hands on his hips. “Wow, it’s nice to see you, too. So glad I used my only day off to come to New York.”

Tony pulls him into a hug so tight that neither one of them can breathe, face buried in the dusty shoulder of his Air Force uniform. He smells like the airplane, stale and musty, but Tony doesn’t really care at this moment. It’s been six months since he last saw him, and that’s five months and thirty days too long. 

“I missed you.”

“Missed you, too, Tones,” Rhodey replies as they part, picking his bag back up to put in the trunk of the car. “Even though you just threatened my life for visiting you.”

“I had to cancel a date with the hottest man I’ve ever seen for you.”

“You had a date with Brad Pitt?”

Tony laughs, getting behind the wheel and starting the car up again. He pulls out of the pickup area to navigate the confusing maze of the airport. “I had a date with a man whose face puts Brad Pitt’s to shame.”

“Is this the James that Pepper has been telling me about? Did you really miss me that much that you had to find someone with the same name to replace me?”

“Yes, that’s exactly what I did. Nevermind that I’ve never called you James once since I met you,” Tony says. “And speaking of Pepper, why couldn’t she be the one to pick you up?”

“I’m surprising her.”

“You ruined my romantic evening to have a romantic evening for yourself,” Tony says flatly. 

Rhodey holds his hands up in surrender, “In my defense, if you had mentioned the date on the phone, I would’ve called a cab. But you didn’t, so.”

“And not get the first hug?” Tony scoffs. “I don’t think so.”

“Then shut up about it.”

“God, you sound just like Pepper.”

__________

“So I’m thinking that the fifth time should be the charm,” James says, hopping up to sit on Tony’s desk. He leans back on his hands, accidentally crumpling a paper that might have been important, but definitely isn’t now.

“Oh yeah?”

James nods, “And I know I said that about the third time, but I think I’m actually right this time.”

“Well, I guess if you say it every time it’s bound to be right eventually,” Tony says, resting back against his chair so he’s less tempted to touch the muscular thighs covering his desk. 

“Exactly,” James grins, and his steel blue eyes are brighter with it. Tony tracks the movement as he runs a hand through his short hair. “Are you free tonight?”

Tony opens his mouth to say yes, but a voice behind him answers before he can. 

“He promised me that he would help me move my furniture tonight, so he better not be free,” Natasha says, her gaze pointed when he turns to look her way.

He frowns back at her, “When did I agree to that?”

“Two months ago. You said that you would help me on the next full moon that fell on a Wednesday. I’m not sure if you thought it was a rare thing or if you were hoping that I would forget, but it’s not and I didn’t.”

Tony sighs, turning back to James, who looks amused. “So I’m apparently not free.”

“That’s what I hear,” he laughs. “But I don’t think this counts as the fifth time if we never actually agreed to anything.”

“Think the fifth time can be the charm on Saturday?”

James nods, and when he stands up from Tony’s desk, his hand lingers on Tony’s shoulder a bit longer than just a polite touch would. “Same plan? Pick you up at seven?”

“Perfect,” Tony agrees. 

__________

“I promise you I’m not doing this on purpose,” James says when Tony answers the phone five minutes before seven. “I really do want to go out with you, I swear. You can ask Steve. I’ll make him come over to your desk on Monday, and he’ll tell you that I’ve been talking about you since the day we met.”

Tony is torn between being disappointed at the fact that his date is being canceled again and elated at the fact that the pining wasn’t as one sided as he once thought. He flops back on the couch, wrinkling his nice button down, and sticks two fingers beneath his collar to loosen his tie. 

“You have been?”

“Yeah,” James sighs, and the background noise of him moving around stops. “Yeah, I have been. A lot, actually. I was so happy that you asked me out, because Steve was only a couple more days away from kicking my ass if I didn’t do it myself.”

“Pepper told me to either ask you out or shut up about you forever,” Tony laughs. “So glad we both have such supportive friends.”

“Steve still wants me to shut up about you forever, but honestly he was even worse when he met Sam, so I don’t see how he has any room to talk.”

Tony vaguely remembers Sam from the holiday party last year, remembers thinking that he was nice and they looked good together. At first he thought he was James’s date because they arrived together, and jealousy burned through him at the sight. But then Sam walked over to where Steve was hanging up a garland and the kiss they shared left no room for confusion. It was only after that he noticed their matching wedding rings and realized he never had to worry in the first place. 

“So, uh, can I ask what the reason for this cancellation is?”

“Oh, shit, yeah. Fury’s sending me to Washington for a few days. Flight leaves in an hour and a half, so I’ve basically got to break every traffic law on the way to the airport to make it through security in time. Pretty sure I’m going to get to D.C. and realize I forgot to pack half the shit I need.”

“Buy new stuff and send Fury the bill,” Tony jokes. “That’s what he gets for making the fifth time not the charm.”

James laughs, “The sixth time’s gonna be it, even if I have to walk back from D.C. to make it happen.”

“When will you be back?”

“Hoping for Thursday night. Think you’re free on Friday?”

Tony takes a moment to verify it in his own head, then says, “Yeah. Maybe we should just go straight from work so no one has the time to need something in between.”

“Okay, great,” James says. “I’ll see you when I get back.”

__________

Tony spends all of Friday on edge, right from the moment he wakes up. He has a hard time eating breakfast because he feels so anxious, and he barely manages to choke down his toast. 

It gets a little better, though, when he walks into the office and sees James waiting for him next to his desk. He’s on his phone, a cup of coffee in his hand and another one sitting on the desk that Tony hopes is for him, because in his haste to get to work he left his travel mug on his kitchen counter. 

“I see you made it back in one piece,” Tony greets, startling James a bit. 

James slips his phone back into his pocket and grins, “Just barely. It was dicey for a while there. Thought I was going to have to fake a heart attack to get out of some of those meetings.”

“Well, I guess that answers the follow up question of how was your trip.”

“It does,” he agrees. Seemingly remembering the coffee, he reaches for it and passes it to Tony. “Coffee with two shots of espresso and a splash of milk, right?”

Tony takes it with wide eyes. “How do you know that?”

“Oh, um, you said it once, and I, uh, remembered, I guess,” James says, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. 

“Thank you,” Tony says sincerely, hoping it will dampen some of the embarrassment James seems to be feeling. “For remembering and for getting it.”

Natasha comes in, giving them both a knowing smile, and the moment between them breaks a bit as they both seem to remember that they’re at work. 

James stands up straight, smiles softly at Tony, then says, “I should probably let you get to work. Meet you back right here at six?”

“Can’t wait,” Tony smiles.

He throws himself into work when James leaves for his own desk, reading emails and answering them faster than he normally does. Pepper will be so proud when she sees that he actually treated her urgent email as urgent for once, instead of putting it off for the projects that really interest him. 

The hours pass fairly quickly, filled with work and meetings and lunch with Natasha, where she relentlessly makes fun of his nervousness for his date and his crush that only grows stronger with each passing day. With all the time they’ve spent on the phone and talking through texts, he likes him even more than he did before, and he thought that would be hard to do. 

By the time six o’clock rolls around, he’s almost vibrating in his seat after checking the clock every minute for the last hour. James is perfectly punctual, and Tony thinks that he wasn’t the only one watching the time like it was his only job. 

“Hi,” James grins, making crinkles form around his eyes. He’s rolled up his sleeves to reveal his toned forearms, and it should be illegal for that to be so attractive on him. “Are you ready to go?”

Tony opens his mouth to say yes, the cursor hovering right over the shut down button on his screen, but he’s cut off halfway through the word by a frantic Pepper. “Oh, please tell me you haven’t logged out yet.”

He closes his eyes for a brief moment, collecting himself so he doesn’t scream in frustration, then turns around. “I was just about to, but I assume you’re about to tell me why I can’t.”

“Fury’s meeting with the investors got moved to Monday morning,” she says, and she looks so apologetic that he can’t even bring himself to be upset with her. He just dejectedly finishes off her thought, “Which means he needs that report finalized today instead of next week.”

“I’m really sorry.”

“I won’t shoot the messenger,” he sighs, slumping back in his chair. “Might shoot Fury, though. Still up in the air on that.” 

She walks away with a sad smile for James and a pat on Tony’s shoulder, probably off to do her own new last minute tasks, and he spins his chair back around to face James. 

“So I think I’m cursed.”

James laughs, “I think we both are.”

“Do you think we should just skip the seventh try and go right along to the eighth? Maybe if we make it to double digits the universe will take pity on us,” Tony jokes, though he can’t help the bitter edge slipping into his tone. It shouldn’t take over a month to get a first date with someone, and it’s hard not to think that it just isn’t meant to be, even for someone who doesn’t believe in fate and things like it. 

James puts his hand over Tony’s balled up fist, which is resting next to his mouse on his desk. Stroking his thumb across Tony’s knuckles, he asks, “How long do you think that report is going to take?”

“An hour, maybe.”

James walks over to Natasha’s desk, stealing the chair that’s been empty since she left earlier in the day, and rolls it over to take a seat next to Tony, who raises an eyebrow at him. “I’ll wait.”

“You’re sure? We can just reschedule for tomorrow?”

“We’ve waited more than a month to have this date. I can wait another hour.”

Tony smiles, and he does his best to get the report done in less than that without compromising the work. He expects it to be difficult with James sitting right next to him, but it really isn’t. James is still a little distracting just by existing and looking like, well, _that_ , but he stays perfectly silent the entire time to let Tony focus. 

When he’s done, he skims it one last time to check for errors, then shoots it off to Pepper in an email. He doesn’t even wait for her response before shutting the computer down, wanting to bolt from the building before anything else can go wrong. 

“Okay, the report is done, I am logged out, and we are finally free to have the most anticipated first date of all time.”

James grins, “Knock on wood for that one.”

He returns the chair to Natasha’s desk, then takes Tony’s hand to walk to the elevators together. They’re pretty much the last ones left on the floor, other than Pepper in her office down the hall and a few of the cleaning staff, but Tony still feels a thrill at the idea of James holding his hand in public like that. 

Tony presses the button for the ground floor inside the elevator, and when it comes to a sudden grinding halt halfway down, he doesn’t even have it in him to be surprised anymore. 

“I don’t even know what to say about this,” James says, staring up at the red number six above the doors. He’s also unsurprised by the turn of events, it seems, and his tone of voice is casual. “I know we were joking about being cursed, but I’m honestly starting to wonder if I did something horribly wrong in a past life.”

“I thought it might have been something I did in this life and forgot about,” Tony replies. “Didn’t even consider the past life theory, but you might be onto something.”

James sighs as he presses the emergency call button on the elevator. He has a conversation with the person on the other end who eventually answers, while Tony decides to take a seat for what will probably be a long wait. He slides down the back wall of the elevator, taking his messenger bag off his shoulder and putting it next to him. 

When he’s done with the dispatcher, James joins him on the floor. “So you’re not claustrophobic, are you?”

Tony smiles, “No, I’m not. Are you?”

“Nah, I’ve got a fear of being buried alive and an even bigger fear of snakes, but I’m good with small spaces.”

“You’re more afraid of snakes than being buried alive?”

“I figure the odds of being bit by a snake are higher.”

“Are we having our first date in this elevator?”

“Seems like it,” James nods. 

Tony laughs and adjusts his position, turning so his shoulder is resting against the elevator wall and he’s facing James. He bends one knee to rest his forearm on it, and James pretty much mirrors his position. 

James reaches out to grab his hand again and says, “I guess this is one way to make sure no one can interrupt us anymore. No reception, no way in or out. Just us.”

“That is quite the bright side,” Tony agrees, smiling at the way James twines his fingers through his. Another upside to all of their conversations over cancellations is that nothing about this feels awkward. It passed quickly with the first few phone calls, leaving him comfortable enough to just be himself. 

“And,” James says, using his free hand to reach into the pocket of his jacket to pull out a small snack size bag of salted peanuts, “we still have dinner.”

“Oh, wait, I think I have a granola bar, too.”

Tony digs through his bag with one hand, sifting through notebooks, pens, and crumpled receipts. He finds it at the bottom, a little crushed but still good according to the expiration date, and holds it up like a prize. 

“A broken granola bar and a handful of peanuts,” James smiles. “I think there have probably been worse first date meals before.”

“I once went on a date that didn’t even make it to the meal because the guy spent the first fifteen minutes talking about his allegedly crazy ex, so I’ll take it.”

“But at least you only wasted fifteen minutes,” James says. “I once made it through five dates with someone before they told me that they were actually married and in an open relationship. And I mean, to each their own, but that’s really something you should be upfront about, isn’t it?”

Tony peels back the wrapper of the granola bar and breaks it in half, offering the bigger piece to James. “I tried something like that once. Being the other person outside of the open relationship, I mean.”

“Yeah? How’d that go?”

“Well, I’m currently on a date with you, so not great,” Tony jokes. 

James laughs through his mouthful of granola bar, swallowing it before saying, “Hey, it could’ve been the ultimate plot twist that you were still in it and it’s still open.”

“I only lasted a month before I decided that I get jealous too easily for something like that,” Tony says, and then he realizes how it sounds. “Not that I’m, like, a super jealous person all the time, I just -”

James thankfully cuts off the awkward explanation, “No, no, I get what you mean. Some people can handle sharing their partners, but I don’t think either of us fall into the category.”

Tony chews on his last bite for a moment, then says, “I think we’ve completely crossed the line of what counts as normal first date conversation.”

“Tony, we’re having our first date on the floor of a stuck elevator, and somehow we’re considering ourselves lucky for it, so I don’t think there is a bar for normal anymore. We’re going right for weird.”

“Alright, then I have a question that’s either going to have the stupidest answer I’ve ever heard, or it’s going to be really personal.”

“Lay it on me, doll.”

Tony pushes down the butterflies that the endearment sets off for now, trying to will his cheeks not to turn red. “Why does Steve call you Bucky? I’ve never heard anyone else do it.”

“Oh, God,” James laughs, head falling back and hitting against the wall. “I was hoping no one heard that. I was trying to have it not be a thing here.”

“I’m leaning toward stupid answer, then,” Tony smiles at the sound of his laugh and the way it makes his eyes shine even brighter under the fluorescent lights. 

“Yeah, pretty much. My middle name’s Buchanan, and Steve thought it was the funniest fucking thing he’d ever heard when we were kids. Started calling me Bucky one day because he said it was better than James, and before I knew it my whole family was doing it, too.”

“So is it a friends only thing?”

James shakes his head, and he opens up the pack of peanuts while he talks. “Not really. More like a please, God, not in the workplace, too, thing. I’m trying to be a professional here, you know? And no one named Bucky is getting promoted to department head.”

“Can I ask another question that I know for sure is inappropriate?” 

“Only if I get to ask something inappropriate back.”

“I’ll take that deal,” Tony agrees easily, popping a peanut into his mouth. “Which name do you prefer to be called in bed?”

James chokes on air, “Jesus, wasn’t expecting that.”

“I told you it was inappropriate,” Tony shrugs. “But you don’t have to answer if it’s too much.”

“No, it’s just - wow. No one’s ever asked that before,” James laughs, shaking his head. “Can’t say I’ve ever thought about it, but to give a borderline inappropriate answer back, I’d say I’d take anything if it’s coming from you.”

Tony’s face definitely goes red now, but he can’t hold back the grin that splits his face. “Alright, what’s your question for me?”

James hums, snacking on the remainder of his peanuts while he thinks about it. “I think I’m gonna save it for later.”

“As in you don’t have one in mind, or you’ve got a plan for it?”

“Oh, I’ve definitely got plans for it,” James smirks. “But I’d hate for it to go to waste when I can’t act on it.”

Tony’s curiosity is definitely piqued, but he holds back on pressing for more answers. He has the feeling that he’ll like the plan, given the way James is looking at him with such intention. With any luck, it’ll end up with both of them naked in one of their beds. 

“Okay, back to the initial question, then. Should I call you Bucky outside of work? Do you prefer it?”

James shrugs, “I don’t mind either way, just as long as it doesn’t come out at work. I think if you were to say it it would catch on, but when Steve does it he just sounds weird.”

Tony nods, dusting the salt from his hand as he finishes the last of the peanuts. “I think I’m sticking with James, if that’s alright with you.”

“Perfectly fine. Just never call me Jim.”

Tony laughs, “I’ve got a friend named James who goes by Jim. I nicknamed him Rhodey so I’d never have to say it.”

“Is that the one I met at the holiday party last year? Pepper’s boyfriend?”

“Pepper’s boyfriend,” Tony repeats, rolling his eyes. “I’ve known the man since we were seventeen, and somehow he’s become Pepper’s boyfriend. I wouldn’t have introduced them if I’d known she would be stealing him like this.” 

“I know the feeling,” James says. “I introduced Sam and Steve, too. Met Sam at the VA, and we were friends for a few months before I brought him to a party with me, and just like that those bastards forgot I was even in the room when they started talking to each other.”

“Mine was at least an intentional set up, so I guess I can’t complain too much for bringing it on myself.” 

“Oh, mine was, too, but don’t tell them that. Steve used to hate it when I played matchmaker, and Sam told me that he wouldn’t trust me to set him up on a date after hearing about some of the guys I’ve dated, so I asked a friend to throw a party for no reason just to get them together without them knowing.”

“Wow, that’s going the extra mile,” Tony laughs. “I’d probably tell them just for the bragging rights, honestly.”

James shakes his head, “Nah, I’ll let them think it was just fate or something. Steve loves that kind of shit.”

“The more I learn about Steve the more he confuses me.”

James grins, “Yeah, that’s a common theme with him. I’ve known him since we were eight, and he still makes no sense sometimes.”

“He’s the reason you started working here, right?” Tony asks, and James nods. 

“Place I was at before here sucked a lot, and he kept saying how great everyone was here, so I thought, why not?” James says. “Definitely worth it since I got to meet you.”

Tony bites his lip, looking down at the floor. “I’ve gotta ask, were you really into me for as long as I was into you?”

“If by that you mean since I saw you on my first day here, then yeah. I tripped over a chair when I saw you.”

Tony smiles, “I remember seeing you do that, actually. You looked really embarrassed, and I thought it was cute.”

“Wait, are you telling me that I won you over by being clumsy?”

“You definitely got my attention,” Tony says. “I’d say you really won me over that day when Carol came in with Monica and you sat on the floor and played a game with her. Just ask Pepper. I talked about it for weeks. Actually, wait, don’t ask her about anything. She exaggerates.”

“Does she actually or will she just tell me the entire embarrassing truth?” James teases. 

“Full on exaggerator. Just constant lies, every single word. She’ll probably tell you about the time I got drunk and cried over your jawline, but that would be a lie, too.”

James smirks, lifting his hand to trace the jawline that Tony most definitely cried over once, “It’s really that nice, huh?”

“The phrase ‘sculpted by the Greeks from marble’ might have been said. But, you know, that’s a lie if she says that it was.”

His responding laugh echoes off the walls and makes Tony laugh with him. “I’m really happy to know that the feeling was completely mutual, then. I think I’ve said some pretty dirty things about you to Steve.”

“Yeah? What kind of dirty things?”

“Let’s just say that Steve knows far too much about some very specific fantasies and leave it at that.”

Tony gapes, “What? No, we can’t leave it at that. That’s the worst place to leave it.”

James leans in a bit, and his voice drops a little lower, “You wanna hear about them?”

Tony’s breath catches at the way James is looking at him. His eyes have grown a touch darker, lips parted in the most tempting way, and the air around them feels like it’s shifted. 

“Yes,” he says. “Tell me.”

There’s a knock on the elevator door just then, because the universe is apparently not done fucking with them just yet, and they snap apart like rubber bands. 

James stands, then takes his hand to help him up. He lets James do the talking with the person on the other side, barely managing to listen as they talk about getting them out. It’s only a few more minutes before the doors are opened, and they’re freed from the elevator. 

The moment in the elevator may have ended by the time they’re out onto the sidewalk, but the electric air between them definitely hasn’t faded. They stand there on the sidewalk, unmoving and unspeaking for a while. Neither, it seems, wants to be the one to ask about where to go next, even though Tony thinks they both want the same thing. He decides to be the one to break the silence. 

“So,” he says, “I believe you owe me one inappropriate question.”

“Yeah, I believe I do,” James grins, eyes raking down Tony’s body in a way that makes him feel perfectly exposed. “Top or bottom?”

**Author's Note:**

> find me on tumblr [@ifmywishescametrue](https://ifmywishescametrue.tumblr.com) :)


End file.
